Grey looked out over the sea.
A cream-colored, colt-like Pokémon wrapped in rushing currents suddenly appeared.
There weren't many people at Castelia Harbor this morning, but they all heard Keldeo's telepathy and stopped to watch.
Most of them had at least heard of Keldeo's famous name.
This was no ordinary Pokémon. It was the apprentice of Unova's legendary Swords of Justice: Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion.
Now that it had appeared in Castelia City, maybe they even had a chance to catch the apprentice of the Swords of Justice.
And even if they couldn't catch it, seeing it with their own eyes would still be something special.
Maybe one day, when they had children and grandchildren, they could sit back in a recliner and tell this story like a legend from their youth.
Just thinking about it felt wonderful.
Whoosh!
Keldeo landed neatly, its resolute gaze sweeping across the crowd.
"Huh? Was Keldeo's horn always broken?"
"The old paintings really weren't accurate. Keldeo's horn is obviously broken, but all the pictures show it intact."
The crowd chattered one after another, and Keldeo's face turned red with embarrassment.
Its horn really had been whole before, but after getting overconfident and going to challenge Kyurem, it had been snapped off with a single blow.
The more people argued on its behalf, the more awkward Keldeo felt.
But when it remembered why it had come here, it planted all four hooves firmly on the ground and lifted its head high.
Then a bright, youthful voice rang out in everyone's minds.
"I, Keldeo, am publicly recruiting a Trainer to join me in the Strongest Trainer Tournament!"
It got straight to the point, instantly killing everyone's earlier ideas.
The Strongest Trainer Tournament had been wildly popular in Unova lately, and Liberty Garden was already famous to begin with. Put the two together and the result was intimidating enough to make people back off.
"What? Don't tell me not a single Trainer wants to become my partner?"
Keldeo shifted restlessly. Seeing the crowd react like this, it couldn't help feeling disappointed.
I'm giving you a chance, and you're all completely useless!
Why was it that when it took the initiative, nobody wanted to come closer and become its partner?
Just like its masters said, humans really were a bunch of cowards!
"Aren't you a ten-year Keldeo fan? Your idol is right there, so go for it!"
"Bro, being a Keldeo fan doesn't mean I want to go die."
They knew all about the Strongest Trainer Tournament. Never mind the fact that you needed an invitation letter just to participate—even the thought of having to drift across the open sea for a chance to reach Liberty Garden was enough to scare off plenty of Trainers.
Only a real warrior would dare catch Keldeo.
"That can't be right. I could clearly sense a powerful aura here, and it's Fighting-type too. Why isn't it coming out...?"
"Even if he doesn't like me, why doesn't any other human even want to try? Have I really lost my appeal?"
Keldeo was getting suspicious. In the past, when it disdained humans, they still flocked to it.
Now that it was taking the initiative, those Trainers were too scared to come near.
And among the Trainers watching from around the harbor was one who had concealed his true strength.
He had hidden it very well, but to another Fighting-type, that kind of concealment was especially obvious.
"Grey, don't you want to catch Keldeo?"
Caitlin tugged lightly at Grey's sleeve. She tilted her head up to look at his face, curious why he hadn't done anything.
"I did at first, but now... not so much."
Grey shrugged and frowned a little.
How should he put it?
This Keldeo was different from the Pokémon he'd met before.
A little...
young and reckless?
It wasn't the same kind of arrogance as Zapdos or Articuno.
Keldeo's brand of arrogance felt more like it had no clear grasp of its own place.
To put it another way, a personality like this was bound to suffer sooner or later.
It was the kind of temperament that invited disaster.
It would be better if Keldeo learned to rein it in.
Still, that wasn't the end of the world. Whether Pokémon or people, everyone grew little by little.
With that thought, Grey's frown eased.
Tap, tap...
At that moment, Keldeo actually walked over to Grey on its own.
"Human, many of my kind's auras cling to you. Are you willing to become my partner and walk the path of the Swords of Justice with me?"
Keldeo made no effort to hide its voice, so everyone present heard its telepathy clearly.
The crowd was stunned.
They hadn't expected Keldeo to extend an invitation to an outsider on its own.
"Who is that guy? Why's he carrying a parasol? You can't even see his face. Is he some pretty boy or what?"
"?"
Grey raised the parasol, revealing his face.
"Oh, it's Leader Grey. Then never mind."
The spectator who had just spoken immediately changed his tune and started praising him instead.
Yesterday, the official Unova Daily had lavishly praised Grey, saying he had made an enormous contribution to dismantling a certain evil organization in Unova.
In a situation like this, nobody was going to badmouth him.
"I refuse."
Grey shook his head.
"Why?!"
Keldeo's eyes widened. It couldn't believe what it had just heard.
"No special reason. I just don't want to walk the path of the Swords of Justice. I'm a Gym Leader, and I won't be staying in Unova for long. If you're looking for a Trainer to accompany you on that journey, then you'll need to ask someone else."
Grey sent out Lucario and handed the parasol to it, then crouched down and looked Keldeo in the eye.
He admitted that he had been interested in Keldeo at first.
But after that little performance just now, he didn't really care anymore.
"I see..."
Keldeo lowered its head. This was the first time a human had rejected it so directly.
There hadn't even been the slightest effort to spare its feelings.
"Then..."
"Battle me! If I defeat you, then you'll become my Trainer, deal?!"
Keldeo's fighting spirit surged. Even though Lucario at Grey's side was clearly far stronger than it, Keldeo showed no fear at all.
"Are you sure?"
Grey glanced at Keldeo's system panel, and one brow rose slightly.
Pokémon: Keldeo (Mythical Pokémon)
Type: Water / Fighting
Level: 50
Ability: Justified
Moves: Sacred Sword, others omitted.
Notes: Its horn was originally intact, but it was damaged in a battle with Kyurem.
Level 50—basically strong Gym Leader tier.
That put it around the same level as the Metagross on his team.
Honestly, the fact that it had dared challenge Kyurem at this level was admirable in its own way.
It had even more guts than Tyrogue.
"I'm sure!"
Keldeo nodded firmly, then sprang backward several times to open up a battlefield.
"Having the courage to fight a strong opponent is worth praising."
Grey gave a small nod and tossed a Poké Ball out in front of Keldeo.
"Then let's see whether you can still win against an opponent like this."
Thunk!
The Poké Ball hit the ground, and a silver-white Metagross descended with a heavy crash.
Pokémon: Metagross
Level: 52
Level 52.
"Of course I can!"
Keldeo didn't waste a word. Its blue tail instantly whipped up a stream of clear water and smashed toward Metagross with overwhelming force.
Aqua Tail!
The move's power was respectable. Among Pokémon at this level, Keldeo could absolutely be considered outstanding.
No wonder it had developed such a proud personality.
But...
"Still far from enough."
Grey shook his head and sighed. "Metagross, counter with Thunder Punch."
"Gross!"
Metagross's steel arm shot forward, crackling with electricity, and smashed straight into Keldeo's incoming tail.
Boom!!!
The water wrapped around Keldeo's tail was blown apart by Thunder Punch, and Keldeo itself was hurled back several meters, skidding across the ground.
"So much power?!"
Keldeo stomped hard to stop its slide, then quickly turned back to stare at Metagross.
That terrifying strength had nearly crushed it head-on.
Keldeo had always thought highly of itself. Even its three masters had praised its talent more than once.
But against Grey's Metagross, it had lost the very first clash of strength.
Still...
It hadn't gone all out yet!
Right, that had to be it!
Keldeo hurriedly gave itself a little self-suggestion, convincing itself that it hadn't used its full power just now. If it had, Metagross definitely wouldn't have been its match.
After thoroughly brainwashing itself, Keldeo felt like the sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and it was back in form.
"In that case, let me show you the move I've mastered!"
In an instant, a vast surge of Fighting-type energy burst from Keldeo's broken horn.
Under that power, the shattered horn was gradually restored and lengthened, taking the shape of a gleaming energy blade.
"I know that one! It's Sacred Sword!"
There were no shortage of Sacred Sword enthusiasts among the people watching from the sidelines.
Long ago, Sacred Sword had been a signature move exclusive to the Swords of Justice.
But those Pokémon loved taking students, and they had taught the move to many other Pokémon over time, so more and more species could learn it.
As the apprentice of the Swords of Justice, Keldeo was the real deal.
That made everyone even more eager to see whether it could restore Sacred Sword to glory.
"Sacred Sword, strike!"
Keldeo shouted, and the Sacred Sword above its head swelled to more than three meters long—easily as tall as a one-story building.
The people at the harbor burst into cheers, clearly unable to wait to see Keldeo use its homegrown Sacred Sword to bring down the foreign pseudo-legendary from Hoenn, Metagross.
"Zen Headbutt!"
The golden X across Metagross's face suddenly blazed with psychic power, turning it into something like a massive warhammer as its momentum rose higher and higher.
Sacred Sword came down, and Metagross charged straight at it.
Rumble!
Dust exploded into the air, and everyone at the dock craned their necks, desperate to see the result.
Crack...
The sound of something shattering echoed out.
The Unova spectators around the arena all felt their hearts lurch.
That sound did not seem like good news.
"Gross!"
Metagross bellowed, and in the next instant a dark figure flew out from the edge of the dust cloud.
There was no need to think about who it was.
It could only be Keldeo.
Invincible Keldeo had lost again.
"I... how could I lose...?"
Keldeo stared blankly at the Sacred Sword of energy that had broken into several pieces, disbelief filling its eyes.
Sacred Sword had broken again?
First Kyurem, and now Metagross...
The former it could understand. Kyurem was, after all, one of Unova's legendary dragon trio.
But why couldn't it even beat the latter?
And more than that...
More than that, its Sacred Sword, which was supposed to cut through anything, had actually been broken in turn.
"Gross?" (Weird... how is it this weak?)
Metagross sounded thoroughly confused.
Keldeo was only a little weaker than it.
So how had it ended up getting completely overpowered after just two exchanges?
Back at the Fighting dojo, Metagross had met plenty of Pokémon close to its level, but nothing like this had ever happened.
Could it be...
Was this guy hiding its true strength?
Was it deliberately pretending to be weak so Metagross would let its guard down, making a sneak attack easier later?
Metagross liked reading novels in its spare time, so it knew plenty about all sorts of underhanded tricks. In its eyes, Keldeo was probably one of those opponents who played weak first, then struck when the enemy relaxed.
"Metagross, that's enough."
Grey stepped forward and patted Metagross on its steel body.
Ever since it evolved, the thing seemed to enjoy viewing other Pokémon from the strangest and most suspicious angles possible.
Basically, it always assumed the worst-case scenario.
And in Metagross's eyes, a Mythical Pokémon like Keldeo was suspicious on top of suspicious.
If Grey hadn't stopped it, Keldeo probably would have been catching a few more heavy punches.
"Gross." (Oh, okay.)
Metagross obediently stayed at Grey's side, but kept a quiet guard up anyway.
Deep down, it still felt like Keldeo might launch a sneak attack at any moment.
"I lost..."
Keldeo lowered its head. After taking blow after blow, its fighting spirit was on the verge of shattering.
"Do you know why you lost?"
Grey asked quietly.
"Because I'm too weak..."
Keldeo thought everything came down to its lack of strength.
"Wrong. That's not it. Your strength is close to Metagross's. You're only a little behind."
Grey let out a sigh. Keldeo had gone completely down the wrong road.
He had no idea how its three masters had trained it. They had taught it for so long, yet somehow never done the most basic work of correcting its mindset.
"Then where exactly did I lose?"
Keldeo didn't understand. It had no idea what the real difference between itself and Metagross was.
Could it be the Trainer?
No, that didn't make sense. That battle had involved almost no technique at all—it had basically just been a straight collision of raw stats.
So what, exactly, was Grey trying to tell it?
Keldeo blinked curiously, waiting for him to continue.
Grey glanced up at the sky, wondering why N still wasn't coming down.
Then, hearing Keldeo's question, he cleared his throat and said, "Simple. You're too arrogant."
"To put it plainly, you're far too confident in your own strength. If you could use that confidence properly, it would help push you forward."
"But the problem is that yours is blind arrogance. Even when you battled Metagross, you knew full well it was stronger than you in raw physical power, but you still insisted on meeting it head-on with physical moves."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to be better at special attacks, right?"
Grey knew Keldeo was a fast special attacker.
But Keldeo preferred using physical attacks, where it didn't actually hold the advantage.
Under normal circumstances, after losing the physical exchange, it should have switched to special moves instead of stubbornly throwing out its so-called ultimate move again.
"So that's it..."
Keldeo understood immediately.
That only made it admire Grey more. With just a little guidance, Grey had already helped it understand both why it lost and what the real reason for its defeat had been.
Just as expected, its judgment hadn't been wrong.
"All right, now that the lesson's over, I'm leaving."
Grey rubbed Keldeo's head, then walked over to Caitlin.
"If we leave now, we should be able to reach Nimbasa City by tonight. I booked the Ferris wheel, so we'd better hurry."
"Eh...? O-okay!"
Caitlin's little face turned bright red at once.
Saying that out loud in front of everyone, about taking the Ferris wheel with her...
Grey really tugged on her heartstrings every second of the day.
With her head lowered, Caitlin walked beside Grey.
Keldeo paced back and forth where it stood.
It wanted to call out and stop him.
But how was it supposed to stop him?
Did that really mean it had to take the initiative and follow him?
It seemed...
that was the only thing it could do.
After a fierce struggle in its heart, Keldeo finally shouted just as Grey was about to leave the harbor, "Please let me become your partner!"
Everyone: !!!
To make a colt as proud and unruly as Keldeo say something like that on its own—Grey had truly opened everyone's eyes.
This was a Mythical Pokémon, rarer than the pseudo-legendaries of every region.
And now it was asking to join his team of its own accord.
People were overwhelmed with envy.
But then, once they remembered that this was Grey, it suddenly felt reasonable again.
Was there even anything Grey couldn't do?
First the legendary birds of Kanto, then Meloetta, and now Keldeo—people's standards had been getting higher and higher.
At this rate, even if Grey suddenly sent out Reshiram one day, they might feel like that made sense too.
Well, no, wait.
If it were Reshiram, they'd still definitely be shocked.
That was Unova's hometown dragon legend.
They absolutely could not let an outsider catch that one!
"If you come with me, the road ahead may be dangerous. Are you sure you still want to follow me?"
Grey turned around and met Keldeo's gaze.
"Of course! I'm going to become a Sword of Justice who defeats Kyurem. Our goals should be the same in that regard, shouldn't they?"
Keldeo wasn't completely sure, but it could smell the aura of truth on Grey.
That was an aura only a Trainer acknowledged by Reshiram could possess.
And Reshiram and Kyurem were the kind of beings who could never truly coexist in peace. One day, a battle between them was inevitable.
Which meant that when all was said and done, Grey and Keldeo really did have something in common.
"They do."
Grey nodded and started thinking about which kind of Poké Ball he should use to catch Keldeo.
He cared quite a bit about matching the ball.
Keldeo had red around its head and blue on its tail.
In that case... maybe a Great Ball would do.
With that in mind, Grey took out a Great Ball and tossed it at Keldeo.
The Great Ball barely shook before it went still.
Capture successful.
Grey clipped the Great Ball to his belt and, after a moment of thought, decided to send Metagross back to guard the place.
After that, he and Caitlin crossed through Castelia City and arrived at the Unova desert.
And there, standing in the middle of the road as though he had been waiting for quite some time, was a young man with long dark green hair...
"There were too many eyes at Castelia Harbor just now, so forgive me for not meeting you sooner."
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